NORTHERN SECONDARY SCHOOL

English 4U6 (Gifted)

COURSE OUTLINE

English 12 Gifted (4U6) is the graduation course in the Gifted English program.  It is designed to prepare students for further study at the university level while continuing to challenge them with greater breadth and depth of material than is offered in the standard academic program.

Course Overview

This English course will provide students with an opportunity to further develop their critical thinking, communication, and literacy skills.  Students will study a range of challenging texts from a variety of countries, cultures, and historical periods.  A specific focus at the Gifted level will be on representations of identity in world literature.  Throughout the year, students will analyze and write analytical, personal, argumentative, and literary essays; an emphasis will be placed on understanding academic language and using it coherently in written and oral discussion.  There will be opportunity for students to apply key concepts in analysis of media works.  The Independent Literary Research Project (ILRP) will develop students’ independent academic skills.

Evaluation

While students in the Gifted program can expect differences from the regular academic program with respect to the amount and type of material covered, as well as assessment and evaluation strategies, the overall curriculum expectations and assessment criteria will be the same.

a) The interim mark required by universities will be based on the following four strands of Term Work

and a common test:

Literature & Reading         30%                Students will also be evaluated in the following areas:

Writing                 30%                        Responsibility                             Collaboration

Oral Language                20%                                 Organization                             Initiative

Media                         20%                            Independent Work                Self-Regulation

*Essay Analysis Test         10%        

*Note: For the calculation of the final mark, the Essay Analysis Test will be folded into the strands of Term Work.

b) Marks in each of the four strands are cumulative for the whole year.  The final mark will be calculated as follows:

Final Mark (100%)        =        Term Work (70%)        +        Final Evaluation (30%)

c) The Final Evaluation will be completed in two parts:

*Independent Literary Research Project (culminating essay)

Multimedia Project (10%)

June Examination (20%)

*Note: The calculation of the ILRP will come from a varied amount of the 70% Term Work collected throughout the year.

English 4U6 Course Description

The course will cover six types of literary studies:

1. Assorted Texts – Students will examine a variety of texts including essays, poetry, drama, media, and   fiction.  Models of writing will be used to demonstrate alternative patterns of organization, style, and rhetoric in order to help students develop their individual voices within their own writing.  Students will be assessed in December or January on their ability to identify a writer’s voice, as well as the structural and stylistic devices a writer uses to persuade readers to a point of view.

2. Novel Study – students will explore literary themes, issues, and style through the study of at least one novel.

3. Drama Study – Students will discover thematic parallels to the modern literature in at least one play by William Shakespeare.  Possibilities include King Lear, Measure for Measure, and The Tempest.

4. Independent Literary Research Project (ILRP) – In consultation with the teacher, students will choose two compatible literary works of world literature to read outside class.  Students will keep reading notes, and write an essay thoughtfully exploring a topic emerging from a comparison of the works.

5. Film Study – To complement their study of the core literature, students will study at least one film.

6. Final Evaluation – The final evaluation unit in ENG4U6 will consist of three parts (see “Evaluation, above”).  Students will create a multimedia project demonstrating their understanding of the themes explored through the core literature this year.  For the final examination, students will write a literary essay on a novel and play studied in class.  The mark on the culminating essay of the Independent Literary Research Project (ILRP) will comprise the remainder of this unit.

General Expectations for a University Preparatory English Course

Attendance

For a successful graduating year in English, students are expected to attend respectfully all classes in ENG4U6.  It is during class that students will receive oral and/or written instructions and course handouts; submit work; deliver presentations; confer with the teacher and peers; revise drafts; participate in discussion; and support the efforts of their peers.  This is not a correspondence course.

Notebook

Students are responsible for keeping a complete and organized notebook containing handouts and class notes.

Homework

In addition to major assignments, students are responsible for completing material assigned for the next class, whether for evaluation or class discussion.  Students should expect to read constantly in this high level academic course.